


s w e e t w a t e r

by mogitz



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Archie Andrews is now Ari Andrews, F/F, F/M, Genderswap, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Or don't, Past Rape/Non-con, a retelling of riverdale, but still canon in a lot of ways, just read it, major plot changes, minor plot changes, this isn't an easy story to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-04-28 09:13:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14446074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mogitz/pseuds/mogitz
Summary: “Our story is about a town, a small town, and the people who live in the town. From a distance, it presents itself like so many other small towns, all over the world. Safe. Decent. Innocent. Get closer though and you start seeing the shadows underneath. The name of our town is Riverdale. And our story begins, I guess, with what the Blossom twins did this summer…”Ari Andrews, Junebug Jones, Vincent Lodge, & Brett Cooper are teenagers trying to navigate life in their small town full of secrets. When Jasmine Blossom is found dead, the rest of the towns mysteries become unravelled.A genderswapped retelling of Riverdale.





	1. A Stranger Comes to Town

**Author's Note:**

> wasn’t expecting this to happen! But here we are! This is a gender-swapped retelling of Riverdale, with both major and minor changes. For example, parents will remain the same. And there is no teacher/student shenanigans because ew. Anyways, get ready to meet Ari Andrews, Junebug Jones, Brett Cooper, Vincent Lodge and the gang!  
> I've decided to post the first half of the first chapter to give you guys a bit of an idea what it will be like, and the rest tonight.

 

* * *

_ “Our story is about a town, a small town, and the people who live in the town. From a distance, it presents itself like so many other small towns, all over the world. Safe. Decent. Innocent. Get closer though and you start seeing the shadows underneath. The name of our town is Riverdale. And our story begins, I guess, with what the Blossom twins did this summer…” _

* * *

The dim, neon lights play games with Junebug’s dry, red eyes. She groans, blinks a few times, squints. She struggles to see her own words on her laptop screen in the glare. Chipped, black fingernails hammer hurriedly against her keyboard as she spills out her mind’s contents onto the open Word document - temporarily named “sweet_water.doc” until she can figure out a better title.

The end of summer is drawing near, and Junebug Jones doesn’t have much to show for it except for this: 57-pages in size twelve, courier font, hypothesizing  _ just  _ what happened to Jasmine Blossom. It’s a sad but all-too-common tale of a missing teenage girl from the sleepy, All-American town. 

The facts are scarce and still coming together, albeit slowly.  

What they  _ do _ know is this: on the fourth of July, just after dawn, Jasmine Blossom and her twin brother Charles drove out to Sweetwater River for an early morning boat ride. 

And the next thing they know happened for sure is that Dani Doiley, who was leading Riverdale's girl scout troop on a bird watching expedition, came upon Charles by the river's edge. 

Riverdale police dragged Sweetwater River for Jasmine's body, but never found it. 

So a week later, the Blossom family buried an empty casket, and Jasmine's death was ruled an accident, as the story that Charles told made the rounds: That Charles dropped a glove in the water, and Jasmine reached down to get it, and accidentally tipped the boat, and panicked, and drowned.

That’s _all_. No other witnesses, no other leads. Just a broken family and a town on edge, awaiting answers.

* * *

A shadow casts over Junebug as she sits in her regular booth at Pop’s. The shadow is from none other than Pop Tate _ himself _ , hovering over and holding a fresh pot of coffee. June wordlessly slides her cup over to him across the table, her eyes quickly falling back to her screen without concern.

“When was the last time you slept, child?” Pop wonders, and June just shakes her beanie-clad head. Her typing doesn’t even slow.

“Sleep is for the  _ weak _ ,” she mumbles, a low rumble. It’s weird hearing her own voice. She can’t recall the last time she spoke - it might have been hours. It might have been days. 

_ Whatever. _

Time is just a construct, anyways. 

“You spent your  _ entire _ summer cooped up in my Chocklit Shoppe,” Pop says, shaking his head disapprovingly. He reaches down between them to the fetch the empty plate from June’s devoured supper. 

“I’m allergic to sunlight. And people,” June drones.

“Don’t you have any friends?” Pop has the audacity to ask. June cocks a dark eyebrow at him, but her eyes never leave her computer screen.

“Don’t you know that’s a  _ rude _ question?” Pop just chuckles and Junebug smirks - she’s known Pop for her entire life. His fatherly concern is habitual at this point.

“Still on the outs with Ari, huh?” he concedes. 

Junebug sighs, slapping her laptop shut before turning in her seat - she can’t focus with the incessant questioning. 

“Ari and I will be fine...  _ eventually. _ We just aren’t speaking at the moment because Ari is…” June’s eyes cast toward the ceiling tiles as she searches for the right way to end her sentence. It’s not coming to her, which is further proof it was time to stop writing. Her creativity is shot. “Let’s see, how do I put this… Ari is a  _ selfish cow _ .”

“That’s too bad. You girls were like two peas in a pod since you were in diapers.”

“ _ Three _ peas,” June corrects. “Don’t forget Brett.”

“Oh, yeah,” Pop says with a reminiscent smile spreading across his lips. “How _ is _ Brett? He’s due home soon, isn’t he?” 

June feels her cheeks flush at the mention of her oldest childhood friend’s return. Even before he left, He was looking a lot more grown up - his boyish face was somehow becoming more angular, his jawline seemingly cut from marble. 

She bites the fleshy party of her bottom lip and shrugs, slinking back into her booth. She hoists a knee up, her black, unlaced military boot squeaking as it rests on the plastic seat.

“Today, I guess. He was supposed to text me when he got in, but I’m sure he’s just busy...“ Pop’s stare pulls past June and out to the parking lot. Curious, Junebug glances over her shoulder, too. 

There he is: Brett Cooper, striding up to the shoppe. He’s got his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his tan peacoat, his dirty blonde hair styled up into a half-hearted faux-hawk. June swears she can see his seafoam green eyes shining, even from this far away. 

She stands without hesitation. She yanks at the arms of her flannel, tying it more securely around her waist before she slips on her jean, wool-lined jacket. 

“Where are you off to in such a hurry? I thought you’d be happy to see him.”

“Whelp, seeing Brett can only mean one thing: Ari isn’t too far away. Which is my cue to leave. I don’t really feel like bumping into her, ya know?”

The bell above the door chimes and Brett steps in, scoping the diner for something. 

For  _ someone _ .

His eyes meet with June’s and he smiles brightly -  _ all _ teeth. Junebug gives him a tight, weak smile accompanied with an even weaker nod.

“Junie!” he exclaims, his long legs making giant strides up to her. He pulls her in for an involuntary bear hug, and June all but writhes from his grasp, especially as he presses a friendly kiss against her warm cheek. She pulls from him, smoothing her rumpled jacket.

“Welcome back,” she says, slipping the strap from her messenger bag up over her head and onto her shoulder. 

“You’re  _ leaving? _ ” His bright eyes blink in confusion. “A _ lready? _ ”

June hucks out a quick laugh, a tuft of air, “no, not  _ already _ . I’ve been here  _ literally _ all day.”

“She’s been here literally all  _ summer _ ,” Pop counters, calling out over his shoulder on his way past the two of them. June instantly reddens, but she shakes it off (hopefully) before Brett sees. 

But as usual, there’s no judgment in Brett’s kind, green eyes. He just tells June, “alright, well… give me a call this week so we can catch up.”

“Will do,” Junebug promises with a military salute before pulling the strap of her bag more securely on her shoulder and turning to head out. 

Not fast enough, though. 

Just as she exits the diner, she practically crashes into Ari.

“Excuse me,” Ari starts politely, but then her eyes widen in what can only be described as horror when she sees just who she’s collided with. 

“ _ Oh _ ,” she starts over, more meekly this time. She tucks that trademark, vibrant red hair behind her ear as her dark eyes fall to the ground and away from her former best friend, “ _ hey _ .”

“Hi,” is June’s short, curt response. 

Nothing else. 

She pushes past and goes on her way, and Ari watches her from behind regretfully before pushing the door open and heading into Pop’s.

Brett sees Ari before Ari sees him, and his heart leaps to his throat. His  _ other _ best friend, Katelyn Keller, had been over at his house not even an hour ago giving him a pep talk - it was time to finally ask Ari out before she is snatched up by someone else. His low-simmering crush on Ari had been bubbling just under the surface for some time now, but seeing her now just cemented what he’d always known he’d felt for her. 

Ari spots Brett, his long arm draped over the back of the booth as he peers over his shoulder at her, and a big smile cracks across her face. While Ari still feels shaken from bumping into June, she brushes it off and greets Brett at their regular booth. He stands when she gets there, bringing her in for a hug.

“Hey stranger!” Ari’s voice chimes, happily. They pull away but their arms remain connected. “I feel like it’s been  _ forever  _ and it’s only been 8 weeks!”

“I know, it’s crazy!”

They slide into the booth - opposite sides - and they don’t even have to order their shakes. Pop’s already making them.

“How was it?” Ari asks, shrugging off her jacket and setting it beside her, “tell me  _ everything. _ ”

“It was  _ awesome _ ,” Brett breathes, also pulling at the buttons of his peacoat and slipping it off. “I _ can’t _ wait for college. Chuck Palahniuk, you know, who was leading the summer program?” Ari nods him on, “well, he said he saw a lot of promise in my work and to reach out when I am ready to start applications. I think he is going to write me a letter of recommendation.”

Ari beams back proudly at her friend. 

“Brett, that’s amazing. I am so happy for you!”

“You know, I was thinkin’ you, me and June should try to apply for the same colleges. Wouldn’t it be cool if we all went to the same school after we graduate?”

Ari’s response is guarded and vague, “uh…  _ yeah _ . Sure,” she stammers.

Brett narrows his eyes at her and chuckles, “You seem a little hesitant there. What’s going on?” Pop walks over and sets their shakes in front of them, and Ari uses this opportunity to fill her mouth with strawberry milkshake instead of actual words. 

Brett sits back, crossing his arms knowingly over his chest, “And  _ now _ you’re stalling.”

Ari swallows, shaking her head, “I’m not stalling,” she insists. “I just… don’t think Junebug’s all too  _ happy _ with me right now.” The comment is so loaded that Brett can’t help but wonder what exactly Ari could mean by that. Junebug and Ari had been the best of friends since they were toddlers - he’d never so much as seen them have an  _ argument _ , let alone a full-fledged falling out.

Brett reluctantly asks, “Did... something happen between you and June this summer?” He doesn’t want to pry, especially as Ari’s smile fades and he can almost see a fog cast over them. She clears her throat nervously and heaves a shrug. 

“No... not _ exactly... _ ” She doesn’t want to tell Brett about their fight this summer, especially when it just makes her look like a big jerk. 

Junebug and Ari were supposed to go on a girl’s trip to the beach for the fourth of July, but Ari had bailed last minute. June was already sensitive about things like that, but for some reason, she took the blow particularly hard this time. When Ari tried to reach out to June days later, June gave her the cold shoulder. 

“Did you girls ever go on that road trip you were planning?” Brett pushes, but Ari just shakes her head, meekly.

“Uh…  _ no. _ ” Her gaze falls down to her fidgeting hands on her lap. “No, I was just too busy, you know. Working with my dad all summer.”

“Oh… okay. Well, don’t sweat it. I’m sure she’ll come around-”

Ari shakes away the awkwardness, her hands snaking out to rest on Brett’s clasped ones on the table. He melts under her touch.

“June and I are  _ fine _ .” she insists. “At least, we  _ will _ be. But enough about that! I want to hear more about your summer internship!”

“It was a lot of fun. A lot of work though, too. So much writing, but I didn’t mind it! I was inspired, you know? Being around such like-minded individuals.”

“Sound perfect for you. And, you know _what?_ _I_ started writing this summer, too...” Ari confesses with an earnest grin, and Brett is certain the radiance within her puts the sun to shame. He finds his mouth widening to match hers, his heart thumping in his chest. He loves watching her when she’s excited about something, when she’s _passionate_.

“Seriously? I thought you hated writing.”

“ _ Typically _ I do. But as you know I was working with my dad a lot this summer and had a lot of time to think and I started… I don’t know.” She gets shy and Brett gives her hand a small, encouraging squeeze. “I started writing songs. So I went into the garage and found my dad’s old Epiphone guitar and composing them.”

“Ari, that’s so cool. You’re just self-teaching?”

“Yeah! It’s coming… surprisingly easy to me. It feels like… like it’s what I’m  _ meant _ to do.”

Brett can’t wipe the smile off his face if he tried, “I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks, Brett. You’re always such a supportive friend.” Brett’s stare lingers a little too long before he clears his throat, his hand finding the back of his neck nervously.

It’s time. He’s going to take Katelyn’s advice and tell Ari how he feels -  _ how he’s always felt _ \- about her.

“So,  _ speaking _ of which,” Brett manages to utter, and his palms are suddenly sweaty. Who knew this would be so hard? “I was thinking, you know. About you and me… about  _ us _ and-”

The bell above the diner door chimes and Ari’s eyes cast up to rest on a dark, handsome stranger she’s never seen before. 

Time Stops.

Ari forgets to breathe.

The stranger’s dark but piercing eyes flash to hers and she can see a hint of a smile grow on his lips. His black hair is slicked back to perfection, his skin a deep olive.

_ Who is this? Where did he come from? _

He begins walking towards him, his long, black, duster jacket looking like a cloak, trailing behind him, dramatically. 

Ari can hear her own heartbeat in her ears, and Brett notices her attention is elsewhere. He turns to look over his shoulder at what has her so distracted, and his stomach sinks. 

Brett sees the spark of attraction between them almost instantaneously as Ari watches the stranger and he gazes back at her.

Game.  _ Over. _

“I have an order for Lodge to go,” the stranger speaks, and Pop heads back to fetch it. He’s stopped in front of their table, somewhat awkwardly, and Brett can tell he wants to greet them.

Ari does first.

“I’ve never seen you before,” she blurts, then instantly reddens. He chuckles a bit.

“I’m new in town. My mother and I just moved here.”

“Where from?”

“New York City.”

“Wow, must be a culture shock for you,” Ari says. 

“Yeah... definitely takes some getting used to. Do you guys go to Riverdale high?” He is asking them both, but his stare never leaves Ari.

“Yup,” Brett speaks up, finally feeling a little less redundant and invisible when the new guy finally acknowledges him. “ _ Together _ ,” Brett adds. “We go together-”

“I’m Vincent.” His hand reaches out to shake Ari’s, and she takes it. “Vincent Lodge” 

“Ari Andrews.” Her voice is breathy and somewhat dazed and Brett can’t help but notice that he’s never heard her like this before. Her hand gestures out toward him. “And this is, uh… this i _ s um- _ ” Brett all but rolls his eyes when Ari  _ literally  _ forgets his name, even though they’ve known each other since they were five. 

“ _ Brett, _ ” he finally finishes sharply when his dignity simply can’t take it any longer.

“Wait, Brett _Cooper?_ ” Vincent asks, his curiosity piqued. “Are you-”

“Giving you your school tour tomorrow?” Brett puts two and two together. He nods, giving the newcomer his best warm,  _ welcoming _ , Riverdale High smile. “Yep. It appears so!”

Pop appears with Vincent’s to-go bag, and it’s hard for Brett not to see the sudden desperation in Ari’s face as she offers, “why don’t you join us?” Her eyes dart to Brett as she seeks his approval, but when she receives none, she’s back to looking at Vincent. “Maybe we can give you a run-down of Riverdale. You won’t feel so... overwhelmed tomorrow?”

“I’d love to but my mom’s waiting for me,” Vincent says, and he sounds sincere. “But next time. For sure.”

And he leaves, but not before Ari watches him the entire way out. When he’s finally gone, only then does she turn her attention back to Brett, “What were you saying?”

“Nothing,” Brett says, forcing a smile. And just like all those years before, he stuffs his feelings down. He’d gotten used to it at this point.

 

_ Why should today be any different? _

* * *

 

_ To be continued... _


	2. the river's edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: TRIGGER WARNING: There is a reference to the possibility of a sexual assault. I WOULD NEVER go into graphic detail of such a topic, but please be warned. Sorry it took so long - I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and I was not happy with how I was writing this. There are SO many characters and so much content to cover. I'll be honest - I bit off a lot more than I can chew with this one. I will honestly be continuing this one only if enough people enjoy it, because it's quite taxing. Not as easy to write as I thought it would be!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

When Vincent Lodge steps into Riverdale High school for the very first time, he is unsure just what to expect.

His life, as he knew it, has been turned completely upside down. Back in New York, his time had been filled with tennis lessons and personal trainers and private schools and an unlimited amount of credit on his father's mastercard.

And then, all at once, it came crumbling down.

The patriarch of the Lodge family, Hiram, was arrested in the middle of dinner on an otherwise painfully ordinary Tuesday night. He was pulled from their upscale Manhattan apartment, and nothing has been the same ever since. It was a humbling experience, to say the least.

And now he is here, starting a new life in his parent's hometown. His mother, Hermione, explained that it was the only place they could go without being marked as social pariahs… although, judging by all the stares and whispers from his peers, Vincent figured out that the news had traveled fast.

So much for lying low.

But he's optimistic - he  _has_  to be. He made a promise that with this fresh start he would change his selfish, complicit, party-boy ways and really give back to the world. He wants to start over, to reinvent himself.

And for some very strange reason he can't seem to pinpoint, he knows that starts with Brett Cooper and Ari Andrews.

"Do you have any questions?" Brett asks after leading Vincent through the whole school.

"Just  _one..._  who was that girl? That redhead you were with at the diner last night?" Vincent treads lightly before asking, "Your  _girlfriend?_ "

" _Ari?_ " Brett asks, but his voice squeaks and cracks. He clears his throat and tries again. "Uh, you mean Ari?  _She's-_ "

"She's off limits," a voice cuts in, and suddenly Katelyn Keller is walking in step with them. She is a whole head shorter than them but has  _no_  problem keeping up the pace despite her short stature. Vincent looks her up and down, taking in her perfectly tailored blazer and her bow tie. Her short, brown hair is slicked back and she is wearing literal trousers.

"Oh. Hello," Vincent greets, amusedly.

"Vincent, this is Kat. Kat, this is Vincent," Brett announces, gesturing between the two of them so they can finish introducing themselves.

" _Vincent Lodge_ ," Katelyn practically purrs his name back at him, and it doesn't surprise him that his reputation has preceded him here. She extends a hand, "Nice to meet you. Finally."

"I take it you've heard about me."

"Just little bits," Katelyn backtracks, giving a shrug. "My dad's the sheriff so… I tend to  _know_ things."

"Well, what do you know about  _me?_ "

"Not much. Just murmurings. About your life back in New York, your family's legacy here in Riverdale…" She pauses, biting her lip as though she's unsure whether or not to go on, " _your…-_ "

"My father?" Vincent interjects, his eyes darkening almost instantly. There is an overwhelming intensity in them now as the three of them stop in the middle of the hallway. Brett suddenly feels a little out of place, standing between the two of them. "My father may have made some mistakes. But he's a  _good_  man. And I will stand by him," Vincent tells her, swearing his loyalty to the Lodge family.

As if to break up the intense moment, suddenly Ari rounds the corner. She smiles brightly giving them a wave on her way by, seemingly in slow motion. Her thick, red hair falls over her shoulders in waves, and her eyes seem to glisten.

"Brett!" she calls out as she breezes past, but her eyes are locked onto Vincent. She turns around, walking backward so she can still see them as she says, "save me a seat at lunch!"

"No prob," Brett replies, and Ari's smile grows even more before she turns around and continues down the hall. The three of them watch her disappear through the double doors of the gym.

"What do you mean  _off limits?_ " Vincent wonders aloud once she is out of earshot. Kat swivels her body, practically jumping in front of them.

"It  _means_  she's spoken for."

"By…  _you?_ " Vincent takes a guess with a crooked, intrigued eyebrow. Katelyn just laughs.

"I  _wish!_ " she snorts, but sobers quickly. "But no. By Brett!" she exclaims. Vincent looks at Brett, who merely waves back somewhat sheepishly in response.

"Ah. I  _see,_ " Vince nods, somewhat sheepishly for having put his foot in his mouth. "I'm sorry-"

Brett waves him off, casually.

"Kat's exaggerating. She's  _not_  spoken for. Not…  _really_. Not  _officially_ , anyway..." he explains, his words trailing off without much confidence.

Katelyn rolls her eyes and juts her thumb out toward Brett, "Yeah, because  _dum-dum_ here hasn't had the guts to ask her out yet. How long has it been now budd?" She slaps him a little too hard on the back, "four years now that you've been in love with her?"

Brett just stares back at Kat with a death glare, " _Why_  are you here, again?" She rocks back and forth on her feet a couple times, tugging on her backpack straps, cutely. She reaches up to pinch Brett on the cheek, but he yanks away from her.

"To see  _you_ , silly." Her eyes pull to the new kid, once again taking the in the sight of him. She bites her lip suggestively, "And, of course, scope out the fresh meat."

" _Uhhh..._ " Vincent hums, taken aback, but Kat just busts out into even more laughter.

"Relax, I'm  _kidding_. You're not my type anyway, if you know what I mean." She winks, and Vincent thinks he does. He's not sure what to think of Kat Keller... But he likes her already.

"So,  _why_  haven't you asked Ari out yet?" Vincent pries, turning back to Brett, who had hoped this topic had already passed. Vincent makes a mental note that it is his responsibility to be a good person now, a  _better_  person. Maybe that means helping guys like Brett get the girl, and not swooping in the first chance he gets.

Which sucks, because Ari is a vision and he was taken with her the moment he saw her… but if he wants to be friends with Brett - which for some reason he absolutely does not understand, he  _does_  - he decides then and there to make it his mission to help the guy out.

"It's just… never been the right time," Brett stammers back.

Brett doesn't seem like the type of guy that should have confidence issues - in a lot of physical aspects, he and Vincent are opposites. Dark vs light. He has bronzed skin and that all-american perfect, white-toothed smile and blonde hair while Vince airs on the side of dark and mysterious. He would say they are different, but equal in terms of attractiveness.

The question is…  _where does he even start?_

It's less than an hour into the new school year, and there are already signs plastered all over the hallways that announce the  _Back To School Dance_  - a semi-formal to be held at the end of the week. He rolls up the sleeves of his light lavender button-up shirt before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, buddy," Vincent says, pointing out a flashy poster and flashes Brett a bright but somewhat sinister smile. He hooks his arm over Brett's shoulder, "maybe now's your chance?" Kat and Vincent both stare at Brett with expectant, prying eyes and Brett just shakes his head.

"No, no. That's alright."

"Dude…  _c'mon_ ," Kat groans. She slips her arm though Vincent's, linking and them and leading him farther down the hallway. She calls out over her shoulder to Brett, "if  _you_  don't ask her, I  _will_."

* * *

Ari is late for gym - and on the first day. She hurries into the girl's locker room just as most of the girls are already heading out to greet the gym teacher on the basketball court.

The locker room is empty as she approaches her locker and slips off her top...  _just_  as Regina Mantle turns the corner. Regina whistles suggestively and Ari covers herself, nearly jumping from being startled.

" _Jesus_ , you scared me," she breathes, her heart racing. Regina just shrugs, uncaringly.

"Nothing I haven't seen  _before_ ," is her cryptic, cold response as she pulls her long, glossy, black hair into a sloppy bun on the top of her head.

Ari feels her cheeks warm and her stomach churn at the comment. But she says nothing, just swallows roughly and goes back to changing her clothes. She tries to let it just roll off of her - Regina's always had a bit of a mean streak. It is best to just try to stay out of her line of fire.

Ari reaches down and unbuttons her jeans, shimmying out of them, all while hiding her face behind her wavy, red hair. Regina reaches into her own locker beside her, grabbing out a blue water bottle with the school's emblem on it -  _GO BULLDOGS!_

"How was the rest of your night at the river, by the way?" Regina asks, leaning against the gray lockers and narrowing her eyes, accusingly. She folds her arms over her chest, "you know… on July third? The night of the bonfire party?" When Ari still refuses to engage with her, she reaches her hand out and slams Ari's locker shut, sharply adding, " _After_  you disappeared into the woods with my date?"

Ari sucks in a breath and feels the sting of tears in her eyes. She blinks them away, tiredly telling her, "Reg... I already  _told_  you. I don't remember  _anything_  about that night…" Ari pulls her yellow gym shirt up and over her head. It's too big for her.

Regina just scoffs and shakes her head, rolling her eyes, "How  _convenient_."

Regina leaves in the manner she appeared - quickly and with resolve. After the door to the locker room slams shut, Ari's breathing becomes more and more shallow, panic gripping her insides. She pulls on her gym shorts quickly and runs to the bathroom, leaning over the toilet and vomiting from the anxiety that is coursing through her.

After she wipes her mouth, the memories if July 3rd come flooding back.

Air is telling the truth - she doesn't remember what happened at that bonfire party. All she knows is that after a lifetime of being sidelined, the ' _cool kids_ ' invited her upriver to party with them on the night before the fourth of July.

She was ecstatic - but she knew her dad would never approve. So, she told her Fred she was going over to Junebug's and snuck up to the party.

There was booze and loud music and so many of the cool kids, mixed in with some college students that were in town for the summer.

One of the last things she remembers was that some Serpents - a gang from the south side - showed up to the party and sort of took over. She met a couple of them: a purple-haired, dark-skinned guy named Tony and a tall, beautiful, dark-haired, Leather-clad beauty named Sweetpea. She remembers that she had a doll face - big eyes and pouty, full lips.

There were more there, but Ari never caught their names.

Regina was her ride up to the party; she was there to hook up with her boyfriend, Nick, who was in college now. He spent the evening being friendly with Ari.

 _Overly friendly_.

So, Regina got drunk,  _and jealous_ , and stormed off with Fawn Mason, Beck Clayton, and a couple of the other cheerleaders, thus leaving Ari practically alone at a party with people she hardly knew.

Nick came up and started chatting with her even more once Regina left - he'd been so nice throughout the night, and because of that… well, maybe she'd put a little too much trust in him.

Because the very last thing Ari remembers of that night was Nick bringing her a drink and asking if she wanted to take a walk in the woods. The next morning, she awoke -  _half naked and alone_  - on the river's edge.

As Ari sits in the bathroom stall now, the tears come pouring from her eyes. She chokes on a sob, her chest heaving. She hadn't thought about that night much since it happened, because there was a huge part of her that didn't  _want_ to know what happened to her. Maybe she blacked out for a reason. Maybe that was the universe's way of protecting her from the  _true_  events that had transpired that night.

One thing that stands out in her mind, however, was after she awoke that morning. As she collected what clothes she had left and began walking home, she distinctly heard a gunshot… the morning that Jasmine Blossom went missing.

And because of the complicated emotions surrounding what may or may not have happened to her that night, she never told a soul.

* * *

Brett lazily props his head up by his hand at the lunch table in the courtyard at lunch. He picks at his food absently as Katelyn and Vincent sit across from him. The two are totally engrossed in conversation as they get to know each other a little better. But Brett's mood has somewhat soured the more he mulls on the idea of  _actually_  asking Ari to the school dance. There has always been a longing, but never this much  _pressure_  in the past.

Maybe it's because of this new, charming stranger sitting across from him. An  _actual_  threat.

And  _damn_  it, he likes the guy.

He didn't want to, but Vincent is kind and sharp and already fun to be around. He could see himself being friends with him, and it's the last thing he expected when he first saw him walk into Pop's the night before.

Even with the new friend, Brett feels like something is missing. He can't put his finger on it until he looks up across the courtyard where he sees Junebug sitting at  _another_  lunch table with a few of the new kids from South Side High.

Over the summer there had been some kind of closure of the old building, and the students were reassigned over to Riverdale High instead. June looks to be fitting in with these kids, although it tugs on Brett's heart that June and Ari still aren't on good terms.

He also still has  _no_  idea why that is. When he left for his internship this summer, they'd all been  _so_  close. They were talking about summer plans and the girls even had a short trip planned over the fourth.

Now things just seemed so… broken. So  _strained._

"Hey Ari!" Kat greets as Ari slips onto the bench right beside Brett. They start chatting lightly, but Brett can see the look in Ari's eyes; he knows her more than anybody else.

She's been crying.

" _Hey,_ " he says low, quietly so Vincent and Katelyn don't hear. He nudges her softly with his elbow, "you alright?"

Her eyes flash to his for an instant, and she gives him a weak smile, "it's nothing," she reassures him.

The entire table looks up when they hear a ruckus coming from across the way and see that Regina Mantle, Beck Clayton, and Charles Blossom have made their way to Junebug's table. While Brett and Ari can't make out  _exactly_  what's happening, they can see it's some kind of an altercation.

After a few harsh words and steadily raising voices, the Serpents stand up in a huff. They look quite menacing in their stature. Ari's stomach sinks when she recognizes the spunky, purple-haired kid that is leaping forward, trying to take a swing at Charles Blossom, as the serpent from the party upriver.

They also watch as a tall, dark-haired girl with a tattoo on her neck attempts to hold him back. Junebug scowls at Regina, Charles, and Beck, - but all three just laugh in return. The leather-clad outcasts each grab their lunches and storm off - but not before June shoots Ari and Brett a bit of a glare as well.

They watched it all happen, yet neither intervened. A wave of guilt washes over the both them, but neither says a word.

"What was  _that_  about?" Vincent wonders.

" _Serpents_ ," Kat spits. "Don't even get me started. What the  _hell_  is Junebug even  _doing_ with them?"

" _June_ bug?" Vincent parrots, taking a sip of his cola.

"Over there," Kat nods in June's direction without pointing. "The one in the beanie."

"Okay… what about her? And what is a  _Serpent?_ "

"The Serpents are a gang from the other side of town," Kat goes on to explain. "Apparently, our good friend Junebug has decided to throw her hat -  _or beanie_  - in with them."

"What happened to her this summer?" Brett asks suddenly, maybe realizing Kat knows more than he thought. Since Ari and June have been evading his questions, maybe this is the best chance he has of figuring out just what happened between the two of them. Ari shoots him a side glare.

Kat shrugs, popping a potato chip in her mouth, "Ari you haven't told him yet?" Ari says nothing in return, so Kat goes on, "June and Ari were supposed to go on this trip over the fourth-"

"Yeah, to the beach" Brett finishes, leaning forward and egging her to go on. He knows that already. He turns to Ari, "But you guys didn't go."

"Nope…" she mutters, quietly.

"Ari canceled and June  _freaked_  out," Kat tells him. Brett can't help but note that this story sounds  _particularly_  one-sided. But he lets her finish. "They haven't talked since. But it sounds to me like Junebug totally overreacted."

"This girl's  _real name_  Junebug?" Vincent cuts in, unable to process anything beyond the dark-haired girl's odd name. "Like, on her birth certificate and everything?" All three of them ignore his question.

"That just doesn't make sense," Brett says, sitting back in his seat and pondering everything. June and Ari have been inseparable their whole lives. They've bailed on plans with each other on more than one occasion.  _Hell_ , Junebug bailed on plans  _regularly_. She was known for it! It didn't make sense that she was so hurt over Ari canceling their trip.

"Okay, that's enough on the topic," Ari insists, squirming in her seat. "Can we talk about  _literally_  anything else?"

"Yeah… So... I am  _really_  excited for the dance this week," Vincent changes the subject, never taking his eyes off of Brett. He is trying to broach the topic so Brett can take over, and finally  _-maybe-_  ask Ari to the dance.

"Yeah," Brett nearly chokes. "H-has anyone asked you to the dance yet, Ari?" He tries not to notice Kat holding back her snickers, because of course she knows where this is going. Ari, on the other hand, is still absently pushing her food around on the plate in front of her.

"No."

Brett looks at Vincent and Kat pleadingly, but they just nod him on. He clears his throat, "Oh, okay. Because… because I was thinking… we could go. You and me."

"I'm not really feeling up for a dance this week," Ari says, somberly. Again Brett's eyes shoot to his friends, but they are no help.

"Are you sure?" he tries. "It could be fun."

"You can't skip the first dance of the year," Vincent adds, hoping to convince her to reconsider. Ari's eyes flit up to his, and she can't help but notice that she doesn't want to disappoint him.

"Well… maybe we could all go together?" She suggests, a little more optimistic and bright-eyed than before.

"Uh… yeah. Sure," Brett says, trying not to sound as dejected as that idea just made him feel. "Yeah, that would be fun…" It wasn't ideal, but at least he'd be going with her at all. He supposes a group date is better than nothing.

* * *

The first week of school proves uneventful. It's mostly just busy work, syllabuses, socializing…

But not tonight.

Just like that, Friday comes, and the dance is here. The gym is all decked out in balloons and streamers and colored lights. Ari, Brett, Vincent, and Katelyn all arrive together, as planned. They started with dinner at Pops, with plans to return for milkshakes after the dance.

Brett has spent the evening attempting to get some one-on-one time with Ari, mostly to ask her why she's been acting so off lately. His usually happy-go-lucky friend has been distant… morose, even. Between her changed demeanor and her fight with Junebug, Brett can't help but feel concerned.

"Unhinge your brows," Ari orders teasingly as they stand together by the punch bowl. She lifts the plastic ladle and pours some murky, pink punch into Brett's awaiting plastic cup. "What's going on? You look… worried."

" _Me?_ " Brett squeaks, clearing his throat. "Uh, no. No, I'm fine. I'm more concerned about you."

"You're concerned about  _me?_ " Ari asks, her eyes falling from him. Her entire body language changes. She stiffens, closes off.

"Yeah. I don't know. You've just seemed…  _different_  since I've been back from my internship. And I know you say you are but… are you  _sure_  you're alright?" Ari turns to him and he takes in the sight of her. She looks so pretty in her long, royal blue dress. Her pale shoulders are exposed and her fire-red hair is braided up into an intricate updo. He didn't notice til now the way the summer sun had peppered freckles across her nose and rosied up her cheeks.

"I'm fine," she replies, sharper than she'd anticipated. She is stuffing down the wild array of emotions that are beginning to bubble up inside her from being asked if she's okay over and over again. She just wants to forget that night at the bonfire, just wants things to feel normal again. How is that supposed to happen when people keep bringing it up?

"Alight… if you say so," Brett says, his seemingly unconvinced words toppling into his cup. Ari wants to assure him again, but her words are caught in her throat when she notices Regina and Beck standing and watching her from a distance. Their judgemental eyes are boring into her, as they whisper and giggle. Ari feels a small, hot, wave of nausea roll over her as she takes Brett's arm, dragging him away from the table and out of their prying eyes.

" _C'mon_ ," she insists, "let's just dance." Brett struggles to set his cup back down on the table as Ari pulls him a few feet away and onto the dancefloor. Joey and the Cool Cats are playing the music for the evening and right now it's a cover of some 80s song that neither of them recognizes.

Brett's hands awkwardly come up to rest on her hips and she slinks her hands around his neck, but they keep their distance. Brett can't help but notice they could fit a whole watermelon in the space between them as they sway back and forth stiffly on the dance floor.

"You look… you look very beautiful tonight, Ari," Brett tells her, and she smiles up at him sweetly.

"Thanks. You're looking pretty snazzy yourself," she admits, her hands smoothing down his blazer and then resting back up behind his neck. She leans her head forward and Brett can smell her lavender hair. He sees movement from the corner of his eye, and when he turns, there's Vincent and Kat waving at him, egging him on. Telling him to just do it already.

Brett takes in a shaky breath and clears his throat, "um, hey."

"Mmm-hmm?" she hums back at him.

"So… I've been thinking. A lot about you and about… us…" He wishes he could just get to the point and honestly… so does Ari. Because the moment he begins stumbling through this sentence, she somehow knows what's coming. A conversation she had hoped they'd never have to have.

"Brett-" she starts, warningly.

"I was thinking that you and I… you know, I care a lot about you. And I have these feelings for you. I have for a long time and… maybe we should see where that leads us?"

"You… you mean like…"

"Like being a couple," he finishes.

Ari's arms fall from Brett's shoulders and  _that_  quickly, Brett's stomach drops as well. He said the wrong thing. He messed this up.

She shakes her head at him, at a loss for words more than, " _Brett…_ "

"Is that really so hard to imagine?" he asks her - he knew this might not go how he wanted, but he never anticipated it feeling quite this painful.

"Brett, you're my  _best_  friend-"

He takes a step back from her, his face flushed with embarrassment, "I know, and you're mine, Ari. But… don't you ever see us as… as something  _more_  than that?"

Ari can only leer back at him with wide, glossy eyes. This is too much - this is all too much. He reaches for her and she recoils from his touch, flashes of that night on the river plaguing her mind and suddenly she can't breathe. She doesn't want to be touched. She doesn't want to be propositioned, even though she knows inside that Brett isn't trying to make her uncomfortable, but she's suddenly a ball of nerves and sick to her stomach.

"You know what," Brett chokes, backing away slowly. "Nevermind." Brett turns from her - he needs to get out of here.

"Brett, wait!" Ari calls after him, but she doesn't go after him because although she doesn't want to hurt him, she doesn't know what else to even say to him right now. There's nothing she can say to make this better.

She leaves the dancefloor, going back to the refreshment table to get some water. Her throat is dry and she's dangerously close to breaking down in front of everyone.

She almost makes it to the table when she crashes into Charles Blossom in his cherry-red suit.

"Sorry," she mutters, her eyes barely reaching his before she keeps going.

"Wow," Charles comments, "first Regina's boyfriend, and now you're sinking your teeth into Brett Cooper." Ari freezes in her tracks, her shoulders tensing.

" _Excuse_  me?" Ari spits, taken aback by the brazen comment. Charles Blossom hasn't been known to be a very nice guy, but she's always managed to keep off his radar. In fact, in the years she's known him, they'd hardly spoken. He slips his hand into the pocket of his red slacks, taking a sip from his monogrammed flask. He winces when the alcohol burns down his throat.

"So. Is it true what everyone's been saying about you? You really  _do_  get around, don't you?"

Ari's tearful gaze move past him and back to Regina and Beck. Regina wiggles her fingers at Ari in a mocking wave before blowing her a kiss. Ari glowers back at her and pushes past Charles, but not without shoving him on her way by.

"Let me know if you ever want a ride on the ginger stallion," he crudely calls out over his shoulder at her, making her stomach drop.

"Don't hold your breath," she snaps back at him before storming off. She turns abruptly and slipped back through the students, her chest tight and her eyes stinging in pure mortification. She knew there was a reason that she'd always thought dances were stupid and she never went. She knew she should have stayed home tonight.

Ari reaches for the pins in her hair, loosening her updo as she pushes determinedly through the crowd to the gym doors.

She can't be here anymore. She can't do this.

* * *

Vincent is dancing with Kat across the gym. She's telling him about her not-so-secret (but still a secret) relationship with Fawn Mason, who notoriously already has a boyfriend, when Vincent sees Ari fleeing from the dance. He looks around the room for Brett, but doesn't see him.

"Can you just… hold that thought?" Vincent asks her, breaking from their embrace to try to find Brett and figure out what's going on. After a few moments of searching the gym, his search comes up empty.

He  _knows_  that Brett should be the one to go after Ari, but she looked so upset. He just knows in his gut that she shouldn't be alone right now. After a few moments of deliberation, he follows after her the way he'd seen her slip off.

* * *

Ari's brisk walk turns into an all-out sprint as she runs through doors of the gymnasium and down the empty school hallways, the sound of the slow music falling further and further behind her. She kicks off her heels and scoops them up in her arms, slipping and sliding down the tiled floors in her nude tights until she reaches the front doors of the school. She burst out onto the steps and into the cool night air.

Once outside, Ari takes in a sharp, high-pitched breath. With the stretch of her lungs comes a sob, maybe two, but the tears did no come. Even still, her knees buckles and she plops down onto the stone steps leading up to the school, still just trying to catch her breath. She tugs at the remaining bobby pins in her hair, unfastening her updo into a kinked, hairspray-matted mess.

Ari growls frustratedly and chucks her high heels one at a time into the vast, empty darkness of the school lawn before she drops her face in her hands.

She wants to cry. She wishes the tears would come.  _Any_  emotion would be welcome besides feeling this foggy and numb.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Ari says nothing, just gestures to the empty space beside her. Vince takes a few steps out, sitting across from her on the stoop.

"You alright?" he asks. Ari looks over at him and nods, but tired of lying, she stops and shakes her head, instead.

"So, do you want to tell me what's wrong? If  _not_  that's fine, but-"

"Do you ever just feel like your entire world is falling apart?" she blurts suddenly, and they are both surprised at how easily she opened up.

"My entire life just fell apart into shards of glass so microscopic that it will probably never be able to be put back together," Vincent tells her, not unaware at just how dramatic it sounds. He brightly adds, "so… yeah! Yeah, I do know what that's like."

"Right," Ari groans, feeling sort of like a jerk for being so self-concerned. This poor guy's father was in prison for godsakes. "I'm sorry. That was really insensitive."

"What?" Vincent snorts, shoving a hand into the pockets of his deep, purple suit. His other hand comes up to loosen his tie. "No, it's not. All people are allowed to have problems. Just because my dad was arrested doesn't mean I am the only one who gets to have problems."

She shudders, suddenly aware of just how chilly it's become. This does not go unnoticed, and Vincent slips off his purple suit jacket and offers it out to Ari. The old Vincent, the one back in New York would have smoothly draped it over her shoulders, brushed the hair from her eyes.

But he wants to keep his distance. Despite his obvious, pulling, magnetic attraction to her, he meant what he said about wanting to help Brett out here.

She takes the jacket and slips her arms through each sleeve, giving him a small, almost whispered ' _thank you_.'

"What is the  _actual_  problem?" he asks her.

"I don't even know where to begin," she mumbles back.

"Do you want to start with why you ran out of the dance?" he suggests, scooting closer to her on the top of the stoop. Ari signs, her shoulders slumping.

"Brett."

"What  _about_  Brett?"

"I really hurt him tonight." She scoots closer to Vincent as well, closing the gap between them so they are sitting side by side on the stoop. "He tried to tell me his feelings for me - feelings I'm pretty sure I always knew he had - and I just… I freaked out."

"Why do you think you did that?" Vincent wonders, happy she's talking. Since he met her this week, she had seemed so guarded. But right now… she's vulnerable. Open. He's glad she feels comfortable enough to share this with him.

"Because I-I didn't know what to say. And… and I guess I just don't feel the same way he does."

" _No?_ " Vincent hates the way this makes him feel hopeful. Before he'd offered to back off because he wanted to be a good friend to Brett and not get in the way. But hearing that Ari doesn't have those same feelings for Brett… it changes things somehow.

"No. I mean, he's my best friend. But I have never felt what it is I'm supposed to feel with him. And it breaks my heart because… I wish I could. I don't want to hurt him-" her voice cracks, and suddenly those tears Ari so badly wanted moments ago have caught up with her. And she's crying.

Vincent doesn't think twice before wrapping her up in his arms and holding her. He rests his cheek on the top of her head and lets her cry, trying to comfort her somehow, but not knowing exactly how to.

After a few moments, Ari's sobs taper off and subside altogether. The two of them slowly part, but their faces are close. Ari can feel Vincent's breath on her cheek, and it feels… comforting, somehow. Not how she felt before.

She is overcome with the urge to kiss him, and it really came out of nowhere. By all accounts, she knows she shouldn't feel this way about anyone right now. But it's a new feeling inside of her, one she's never quite felt with anyone before. She stares up into his rich, brown eyes and that feeling grows, a warmth radiating from him that puts her at ease.

"Vinnie," she mumbles, unsure where she got the idea that she and this essential stranger were already on a pet-name basis. A soft smile cracks on his lips at the term of endearment, and it makes her want to kiss him even more.

Suddenly, they jump when they hear the front door of the school squeal open, where a confused and seemingly distraught Brett has come up to see them quite literally in each other's arms. They break quickly, but it just makes them look even more guilty.

Brett shoots a glare to Vincent, who is fast to try to explain that it's not what it looks like.

"No, no. Don't let me interrupt you," Brett says, turning quickly to disappear back into the school before Ari and Vincent can even try to

"Should we go after him?" Vince asks Ari as her hands fly up to hide her face. She runs her fingers through her hair and clenches.

"No, we should not be going after Brett," she snaps without meaning to. "We just really messed up, Vince."

"I can go to him and tell him that-"

"I think this is something I need to do," Ari says, her arms wrapping protectively around herself. "Alone."

* * *

Brett's fists clench frustratedly as he walks briskly into the night with only one destination on his mind:  _Pop's._

The warm, familiar glow of Pop Tate's diner doesn't have the same welcoming luster it usually does. Maybe because his mind is muddled with memories of him and Ari, laughing in a booth over fries and milkshakes.

He can't help but wonder if he'll ever get her out of his head  _or_  his heart. And he hates feeling this way. He wishes there were just a switch he could flip and make all of his feelings disappear.

The bell chimes over the door as he enters the diner. Brett is still trying to wipe away the signs of anger or sadness from his face as he drags his feet up to the bar.

"Hey there, Coop," Pop greets from behind the counter, "didn't expect to see you so early."

"Hey, Pop," Brett sighs wistfully, unable to hide the somberness from his voice.

"You alright?" He just nods, fearing he might get all worked up again if he tells him what is  _really_  wrong.

"Long night. Could I just get a vanilla shake?" he asks, sliding up onto one of the stools. He looks at the time, realizing that if Ari  _does_ try to come find him, this will be the first place she'll look, so he adds, "to go, please?" Pop smiles and turns to start his order, but Brett stops him. "Oh, and Pop? Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor."

"If Ari comes in here looking for me... don't tell her I was here, okay?"

"Sure thing," he nods, his gaze moving past Brett and into the nearly empty diner, "but I can't promise  _she_  won't."

Brett turns his head slowly to see who Pop is referring to, not at all surprised to see Junebug over in the corner, pounding away at her laptop with her usual cup of black coffee beside her. He feels a small smile crook his lips as he looks at his oldest friend, aloof and engrossed in her work like always.

He isn't sure why he didn't notice her there before.

He gets up and nears her, wondering if she even saw him come in.

June feels herself being watched, and her eyes lift and flicker between Brett and the computer screen. She does a double take. Her normally broody face cracks a small grin and her eyes sparkle as she looks him up and down.

"Well, hey there, Prince Charming. Fleeing the ball before midnight?" she muses. Brett just smiles weakly in return.

"Can I sit for a bit?" he asks, tiredly gesturing toward the table. June closes her laptop, giving him a nod.

"Yeah… sure."

But instead of sitting across from her in the booth, June is surprised when Brett rounds the table and sits down right beside her. She tenses, unsure what exactly is happening. She wants to ask her usually-happy friend what is wrong, but unfortunately she doesn't have to. She knows in her gut this has to do with Ari and it both kills her and infuriates her - especially since she isn't particularly happy with Ari, herself.

"I feel like I haven't seen you all week," Brett notes.

"I tend to blend into the background."

"No  _way_ ," he smirks softly, "You stand out in any room  _I've_  seen you in." June can't help but wonder if Brett is aware of the weight his words carry. Brett nudges her playfully with his elbow, "so… No school dance for you?" he asks, and she just narrows her eyes at him and smiles wryly.

" _Really,_ Brett?" Junebug doesn't want to reply, doesn't want to tell Brett that maybe she would have gone to the dance if only someone had asked… if only  _he'd_  asked.

Instead, she snorts, "When was the last time you saw me at a school function I didn't  _absolutely_  have to attend? No,  _wait_. Scratch that. When was the last time you saw me in a  _dress_ , for that matter-"

"Fifth grade. Riverdale Elementary graduation," Brett says without missing a beat. June sits back in her seat in silence as she watches a reminiscent, somber smile stretch across Brett's lips. He chuckles, shaking his head, "you were  _so_  mad your mom made you get dressed up. You insisted on wearing your snow boots."

June smirks back at him, touched by his recollection of that time. Her fingers trace hearts into the table in front of them.

Hearts he'll never see.

"I wore the same dress I wore to my grandpa's funeral in  _protest_ ," she remembers. " _Black._ "

"Your favorite color," Brett points out, and that makes Junebug's head fall back and she laughs. And it feels good to laugh.

This whole summer had been a nightmare. She hadn't realized just how much she'd missed Brett until now with him sitting right next to her.

But… something is off with him. He seems distant. Sad, even. She sits up, scooting her laptop to the side.

"What's up with you?" Junebug asks, although a little part of her thinks she might already know the answer. She watches Brett's mouth drop open to answer, and he looks like he is almost about to, but he closes it shut and shakes his head instead.

"Nah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it-"

"Hmm... maybe I can take a guess," June suggests, crossing her arms over her chest. "Could it have to do with one  _Ari Andrews_ , perchance?"

Once again Brett goes to answer, but this is suddenly feeling like entrapment. He gapes at her for a few moments before, "Nice try. But I'm not going to add to your personal vendetta against Ari."

"Oh, c'mon now. Don't be that way," Junebug teases. "Join me. We can both be mad at her  _together_."

"Speaking of which, why  _are_  you mad at her? I tried to ask her, but she wouldn't tell me."

" _Figures_ ," Junebug rolls her eyes and then, "Well, you go first."

"That's the thing: I'm not mad at Ari," Brett insists. "It would be easier if I  _was_  mad at her. But I'm mostly just  _sad._ "

It hits June the moment Brett says those words that…  _she's_  sad about Ari, too. She misses her best friend. Having Brett and Ari as her only friends her entire life makes her absence from her life that much more gaping.

"I um… I had kind of a rough summer," Junebug divulges, although she doesn't want to get into specifics. Specifics like her mom leaving town or her dad falling off the wagon. She doesn't want his pity. "And just when I needed Ari the most, she  _bailed_." Brett doesn't say anything, he doesn't have to. Junebug sighs, "your turn.  _Spill._ "

"She doesn't like me," Brett says simply, airing heavily on the side of melancholy.

June scoffs, "What? Of  _course_ Ari likes you-"

"No, June," he counters, and when she sees the sadness in his eyes, she lets him finish. His shoulders slump and he leans back dejectedly in the booth. "She doesn't…  _like me_ , like me. And I mean… okay. That's fine. She can't help it, you know? I can't be mad at her for something she can't control. It's not her fault she likes tan, dark-eyed men who look  _damn_  good in purple."

June was following the whole thing until the very end. It makes her do a double take _, "_ Okay,  _that's…_ oddly specific," June mumbles, adjusting in her seat. "Look, whatever it is that's going on between you and Ari… you guys will figure it out. You always do."

"Cooper. Order's ready," Pop interrupts, setting a doggie bag and a milkshake in a to-go cup on the table. Brett is reluctant to go, but he knows it is just a matter of time before Ari may come looking for him.

And then, he almost laughs at herself for being so optimistic - he only wishes Ari was going to come looking for him.

That was part of the problem.

He stands and gives Junebug another small smile, and it seem a little more real this time.

"Thanks."

June smirks back at him, "not quite certain what I did to help... But you're welcome."

"Ari and I are going to be okay," Brett tells her, almost as though he is trying to convince himself more than her.

"I wish I could say the same," June replies, sadly. Brett adjusts the collar on his peacoat and then picks up his order, but not before shooting one last piece of advice over in June's direction:

"Well… don't be angry with Ari for too long. If there's anything this summer should have taught us all it's that life is short."

Those words have never had truer meaning than they do now.

It doesn't take but ten minutes after Brett leaves that Ari comes into Pop's, still dressed up in her lovely, semi-formal dress.

She is looking for the boy next door. Instead… she finds Junebug.

Their eyes meet, only this time, June doesn't look away. Maybe Brett was right. Maybe it was time to put this thing to bed - June knew it wasn't going to happen overnight, but this could definitely be a start.

Ari slowly makes her way between the rows of booths, stopping at June's table.

"Do you… mind if I sit?" she dares.

June shrugs, "If you want to."

Ari nods meekly, sitting in the booth directly across from her.

"What are you working on?" Her voice shakes with apprehension, as though she's scared of saying the wrong thing. The former best friends tread lightly, the tension between the pair feeling heavy.

"My novel. About what happened to Jasmine Blossom."

"I still can't believe she's gone. What could have happened to her?"

"Abduction. Murder. Unfortunately, it's more common than many would think."

"She was so young. She had so much life left to live," Ari says, her eyes growing increasingly teary the more the discussion progresses. "I wonder… I wonder if she even knew how much her death would mean to this town."

Junebug takes in a deep, long breath. She is caught between wanting to ask her what's wrong, and still feeling the prideful sting of resentment toward Ari.

"Brett was in here tonight," June begins, her eyes slowly moving from her computer screen up to Ari's face. "He seemed pretty upset."

"Given the look he gave me when I saw him last, I think that's an understatement," Ari mumbles. She sniffs, unable to hold back the emotion any longer. "In fact... I'm pretty sure I might have lost my best friend tonight," Ari confesses, her voice cracking. June wants to tell her to suck it up, but deep down, she loves Ari. She always will.

And she loves Brett. And seeing them both upset makes her heart hurt. So, instead of sarcasm or malice, she approaches with the garnered compassion she reserves for special occasions.

Occasions such as these.

"Maybe you should try saying you're sorry. You know, it would go a long way." The two girls stare at one another, a million years of history between them weighing down upon them. She tries not to let the emotion escape in her voice as she adds, "I know it would have gone a long way with me."

Ari's full lips part, and she looks as though she wants to say she's sorry now, but instead she just nods. She has to go to Brett - this conversation has been long avoided, and long overdue.

* * *

Ari pulls looks at her cell phone and the screen glows obnoxiously in the dark. Maybe it seems even more obnoxious because Brett never responded to her texts or her phone calls since she left the dance.

She shoots off one more quick one, a final attempt before she calls it a night:

 **Ari**  [11:47pm]: Brett. I'm outside… can you come out? I really need to talk to you.

She hesitates for a moment before adding a second message that simply reads:

 **Ari**  [11:48 pm]: Please.

She clicks the glow of her cell phone off as she walks up the uneven pathway to the Cooper's bright red door, her heart in her throat. She waits what feels like an eternity, but it must only be a few seconds before the front door cracks open, and Brett comes outside.

The buttons on his crisp, white button-up are loosened, his blazer gone, his shirt untucked. He has his hands in his pockets as he nears her, and he looks upset. There is a knot in his throat, hovering painfully above his Adam's apple.

"Brett," Ari starts, but she pauses in her tracks. They stand facing each other, a few good feet empty between them.

"I don't know what that was back there with Vincent… or why you acted so surprised when I talked about us being a couple because… Ari, you've known. You have to have known how I felt about you. How I  _feel_  about you."

Ari hesitates, and then nods. In all honestly, she had always wondered. Always assumed. But she tried to ignore it, hoping his crush on her would subside and never get in the way their friendship. Because she knew she didn't feel that way about him. She knew she couldn't give him what he wanted in return.

 _Especially_  now. Especially after everything that had happened -  _or didn't happen_  - to her at the river this summer. She wants to tell him, it dances on the tip of her tongue, but she can't.

She can't tell anyone.

"So... I'm not going to ask what happened with Vincent," Brett tells her, his eyes glistening with raw emotion. His voice is hoarse, "I'm asking you now… if you love me, Ari. Or even…  _like_  me?"

She takes a determined step towards him, "of course I love you, Brett." She wants to reach for him, but decides it's not the best idea. She tries to ignore the hopefulness in his expression when she says that. "But… I can't give you the answer you want."

"Why?" He wonders, "what is so awful about the idea of being with me?"

"Nothing. You are so perfect Brett," Ari tells him, shaking her head. A tear spills from her eye and down her cheek; she wipes it away quickly. "You are  _amazing_. And  _anyone_  would be lucky to have you-"

"Just not you."

Ari shakes her head sadly, "I'm not good enough for you, Brett. You deserve to be with someone who loves you as much as you love them. You are, and always will, be the most important person to me. But I am not good enough for you. I will never be good enough for you."

Brett can feel the crack in his heart from before grow into more of a canyon, and he knows there's nothing left to say. There's nothing he can say. It's not her fault she doesn't feel that way about him.

But that fact alone doesn't make it sting any less.

He nods, and slowly turns to go back inside, leaving Ari watching from the pathway.

The girl and the boy had spent their whole lives living twenty feet apart, but now it felt like it may as well have been a thousand miles.

* * *

_And so it wasn't just one heart that broke that night, it was two._

_And the night was far from over. Down on the banks of Sweetwater River, Katelyn Keller and Fawn Mason were meeting up for a secret rendezvous. It was there that the two of them stumbled, quite by accident, upon the corpse of Jasmine Blossom._

_But instead of just appearing to have drowned in the icy waters of Sweetwater River, there was a clear bullet wound to her head. A sign that this was no accident - Jasmine Blossom was murdered._

_By morning, everyone would be talking, texting, and posting about it._  
We'd all be feeling it.  
That the world around us had changed, maybe forever.  
That Riverdale wasn't the same town as before.  
That it was a town of shadows and secrets now.  
On Monday, the autopsy on Jasmine's body would take place.  
And on Tuesday, halfway through fifth period, the first arrest would be made.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…?_


End file.
